Antiforgery security system

ABSTRACT

Elongated magnetic elements can be inserted into items to provide readable magnetic patterns which provide reproducible or unique signal patterns to identify or authenticate the items. Magnetic fibers may be distributed within items or magnetic strips to provide reproducible patterns when read. The patterns are stable because of the relatively large size of the magnetic elements as compared to conventional patterns of particles in recordable media. Oriented patterns of filaments may also be inserted into transactional items such as credit cards, checks and the like to provide identification (antiforgery) security to the item.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/651,157, filed on May 17,1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,748,in the name of Mark A. Litman and titled Antiforgery Security System.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to 1) apparatus readable (mechanicallyreadable) security means to prevent forgery of transactional items,merchandise and items of commerce, and including garments, apparel,mechanical devices (such as bolts, screws, rivets, and the like) andclothing, 2) the apparatus which is useful in reading security indiciaon such items, 3) the process of applying, using and removing theindicia and 4) the process of reading or authenticating code implantedin such items. The invention also relates to a secondary device forenhancing security against shoplifting and means for removing indiciafor the secondary apparatus and even the security means quickly andwithout damage to the primary article being protected.

2. Background of the Art

The present invention relates to 1) apparatus readable (mechanicallyreadable) security means to prevent forgery of transactional items, andespecially economic transactional items such as identification cards,drivers licenses, currency, credit cards (including the new smart cardswith readable chips therein), money orders, checks, tickets and thelike, 2) the apparatus which is useful in reading such transactionalitems, and 3) the process of reading or authenticating code implanted intransactional items. The invention also relates to a secondary deviceand means for qualifying or approving materials before they will beaccepted into a primary device such as a compact disk player, imagingapparatus, CD-ROM drive, floppy, optical or floptical disk drive, andthe like.

It is critical to the security of economic systems that the means ofimplementing economic transactions not be reproducible without providingindependent value into that economic system. This is why actions such asforgery, in which false replications are made of economic transactionalitems such as checks, currency, credit cards and the like, are seriousthreats to the security interests of people, businesses and nations.There are severe criminal penalties attached to the commission of thesecrimes of forgery or counterfeiting because of the potential forwidespread societal harm from counterfeiting. Unfortunately,technological advances aid the enactment of the crime of forgery as muchas it improves the detection of false replications.

The conflict between forgery and detection is hardly new, tracing backfurther than Greek history, where the proposition of Archimedes'principle was based on an effort to enable detection of forgery.Archimedes was an advisor to the state, which had commissioned themolding of a solid gold crown for a religious ceremony. The authoritieswished to assure that the crown was in fact pure gold, but they couldnot cut into the crown once it had been made as that would have beensacrilegious. While sitting in a bath tub, Archimedes noted the rise andfall of the water level as he lifted various parts of his body in andout of the tub. He predicted that the volume of water displaced wasequal to either the volume submerged in the water or the weight ofmaterial which floated on the water. The story has it that he ranthrough the streets yelling "Eureka!" at the discovery, and uponsubmerging a block of gold equal to the weight of the crown, found thata different volume of water was displaced by the crown than the block ofgold. The two items were of different densities and therefore the crownwas not pure gold. The forgery was thus detected.

It is equally critical to the security of marketing systems and outletsthat the authenticity of goods are assured and that the goods are not bereproducible without value to the originator of the item. This is whyactions such as pirating and counterfeiting of mercantile items such assweaters, shirts, pants, jackets, furniture, compact disks, cassettesand the like, are serious threats to the security interests ofbusinesses. There are severe criminal penalties attached to thecommission of crimes of forgery, pirating or counterfeiting, and thereare additional costs attached to shoplifting which adversely affects thelegitimate dealers, both of which crimes are presently estimated ascosting the economies of the world billions of dollars. Unfortunately,it is difficult for store owners or legal authorities to readilyidentify knock-off or pirated items at the purchase source (wholesale)or sales source (retail).

It is difficult to detect forgeries today, even with the availability ofmodern technology. This is especially true where such detection has tobe performed in the marketplace (in stores, airports, overseas, etc.)and there is no readily available means for accessing proving technologyequivalent to the technology clandestinely used to create the forgery.This makes the forgery of market goods and especially apparel and thelike relatively easy in today's worldwide economic system.

Magnetic media have already been used in various forms to attempt toprevent forgery of merchandise and transactional items. Large plasticclips which are adhesively secured or mechanically fastened to boxes orstapled onto fabric goods are commonplace in stores. U.S. Pat. No.5,434,917 describes a method for encoding individual signals in plasticcards with randomly distributed ferrite particles.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,664 describes a method of verifying and countingitems such as currency with both magnetic and optical reading ofindividual pieces of currency. U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,518 adds opticalinformation to recorded images to prevent forgery.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,911 describes a method for depositing rows ofmagnetic materials onto a surface by etching grooves and depositingmagnetic materials within the grooves.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,855 describes a visual method of testing items(including magnetic strips) by marking the item with inks or dyes thatfluoresce when illuminated. Microprocessors analyze and compare signalswith standards.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,370 describes the use of scanning devices on twoordered target tracks having magnetic sensitivity. Each output trackprovides different output signals.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,032 describes a means for reducing forgery in whichmaterials, including fibers coated with magnetic particles, are embeddedin a transactional item such as currency or credit cards. The magneticfibers may be aligned vertically or perpendicularly to the plane of thematerial within the transactional item, at least when it is manufacturedfrom paper, by having a magnetic field below the paper train. Themagnetically filled item is authenticated merely by the presence ofmagnetic material which will respond to a magnetic plate or the like. Abroad range of means for placing magnetic material onto the surface ofthe fibers is described. The presence of magnetic fibers and magneticcontent can be determined by moving the item with respect to scanningmeans.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,367 describes a magnetic security documentcontaining uniformly dispersed magnetic material onto which a magneticpattern is imposed which can later be identified by scanning means. Itis particularly desirable according to the invention to align themagnetizable particles at selected locations during the manufacturingprocess.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,313 describes a data accumulation system whichcomprises a homogeneous magnetic material which is capable of beingmagnetized throughout its surface in discrete patterns. The data may besubsequently sensed from recording media.

Modern marketplaces have various systems in place to reduce the ease offorgery, but these systems are far from effective when any significanttechnological effort is behind an attempt at forgery. These are minimaldeterrents, as is evidenced by the volume of forgery still occurring,mainly because of the difficulty in identifying knock-off items quicklyat the point of sale in stores. It would be desirable to enhance thesecurity of merchandise in the marketplace against knock-off or pirateditems.

It would also be desirable to include an antitheft potential to theauthentication system of the present invention. It would therefore bedesirable to develop a secondary device that could be used with anyprimary authentication apparatus with which an item is authenticated bythe primary apparatus, the secondary device identifying unsold (unpaidfor) goods and signaling to prevent them from leaving the store premisesuntil paid for.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,989 describes a method for authenticating securitypapers by including both a magnetic signal and a second mechanically orvisually readable signal into paper used for security papers such aschecks, currency, tickets, credit cards and the like. The machinereading of the two implanted signals helps to authenticate the paper.

It has been proposed in certain literature that magnetic strips canprovide both user identification and authentication of the originationof the item (e.g., credit card, etc.). The procedure attempts to havethe magnetic reader obtain not only the usual identification informationmagnetically written onto the magnetic strip, but also reads the randomdistribution of magnetic particles between the magnetically writteninformation. Because no additional materials, besides the magnetic striphave to be added, the unique random distribution of particles betweenthe magnetically written information are believed to provide a uniquefingerprint for each card. Each fingerprint, once read, is stored in acentral information bank so that when the card is primarily identified,it is also authenticated by the fingerprint. This system suffers fromthe drawbacks that the background signal is extremely weak compared tothe magnetically written signal, the back ground signal being weak willchange easily (even by the influences of being read repeatedly) so thatthe fingerprint smears and becomes less reliable, and the amount of dataproduced in reading such a fingerprint is quite large and would takesubstantial drive space when multiplied by the potential millions ofcards read and fingerprinted. This system is described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,365,586 and 5,428,683.

U.K. Patent No. 1,127,043 describes security papers having threads,planchettes or fibers with magnetic properties distributed therein whichare detectable within the security papers. A magentic thread may beunwound from a bobbin into a paper making mould or incorporated into acentral layer of the paper in the course of manufacture. Alternativelyfiber-like pieces may be mixed with the stock suspension so that themagnetic fibers are randomly distributed amongst the noraml paper makingfibers. The magnetic properties, including the coercivity, retentivity,permeability and hysteresis loss may be measured along with theferquency or directional dependence of the properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Elongated magnetic elements are provided which are inserted intoeconomic transactional items or identification cards. These elongatedmagnetic elements may be fibers, filaments, long or intertwined fibersor threads, strips or the like. They may even be elongated crystals orelongated particles of magnetic material which are of greater lengththan the maximum dimensions typically desired in the provision ofrecordable magnetic particles in printed strips, but this is lesspreferred. Preferably they are fibers or filaments or very narrowstrips, as these can provide the highest degree of security, as will beshown later. It is not necessary that the magnetic elements arerecordable, in the conventional magnetic media sense (as in VHS tape,audio tape, floppy disks, and the like), and it is preferred that thefilaments be magnetic without intent or capability of informationrecordation during operation of the security system.

The security of transactional items can be enhanced by theimplementation of a mechanically readable security system which includesat least a mechanically readable magnetic marking embedded in thetransactional item. The marking also may be visually notable orreadable, but it at least must be readable by a reading head capable ofreading the passage of a magnetic material by the head. The marking ispreferably in the form of at least two magnetic filaments or strips andpreferably includes a multiple number of filaments of differingcoerciveness, magnetic field strength, magnetic field alignment, sizeand/or spacing so that when the transactional item is passed at adefined and preferably constant speed through the reading device,approval will be given by the apparatus only when the proper signal isprovided by the ordered array of appropriate magnetic elements in thetransactional item.

The security and authenticity of other items in the marketplace of amore mercantile nature can be enhanced by the implementation of amechanically readable security system which includes at least amechanically readable magnetic marking embedded in the item orespecially in a label secured to the item. The marking also may bevisually notable or readable, but it at least must be readable by areading head capable of reading the passage of a magnetic material bythe head. The marking is preferably in the form of at least two magneticfibers, filaments or strips and preferably includes a multiple number offibers, filaments of differing coerciveness, magnetic field strength,magnetic field alignment, size and/or spacing so that when thetransactional item is passed at a defined and preferably constant speedthrough the reading device (which includes a reading device which movesa reading head over a stationary marking), approval will be given by theapparatus only when the proper signal is provided by the ordered arrayor uniquely distributed array of appropriate magnetic elements in thetransactional item. Secondary markings for use with antishopliftingdevices may also be combined with the authentication system. Theantishoplifting markings should be readily removable at he point ofsales without damage to the items and without the removal system beingreadily duplicated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a label for a marketable item or a transactional item 1with a graph of its read signals in dropped register to elements (3, 5,7, 9, 11 and 13) in the transactional item 1.

FIG. 2 shows a label 21 for a piece of apparel (not shown) or atransactional item being read by two longitudinally offset magneticreading heads (51 and 53).

FIG. 3 shows a label or transactional item 21 with randomly distributedmagnetic fibers 67 in the label.

FIG. 4 shows a label or transactional item 21 with a magneticallyreadable strip 65 with randomly distributed magnetic fibers 67 thereinwhich may be read concurrently with the reading of the magnetic strip 65or may be read separately in time or space.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Elongated magnetic elements or patterns are provided which are insertedinto labels for items or into the items themselves. These elongatedmagnetic elements may be distributions of fibers, filaments, long orintertwined fibers or threads, strips, coextruded directionaldispersions of elongate magnetic materials in a binder or the like. Whensecurity elements in the form of pre-made films are inserted into oronto articles, the magnetic elements may be patterns of magneticmaterials embedded in or on the film. Preferably the elements arerandomly distributed or specifically oriented fibers, filaments,coextruded matrices of film forming binder and magnetic particles orvery narrow strips (e.g., thin tapes), as these can provide the highestdegree of security, as will be shown later. It is not necessary that themagnetic elements are recordable in the conventional magnetic mediasense (as in VHS tape, audio tape, floppy disks, and the like), and itis preferred that the fibers or filaments be magnetic without intent orcapability of detailed information recordation during operation of thesecurity system. This would mean that each separate magnetic elementwould have a single and specific magnetic output if the element wereread at substantially any point along its length.

The magnetic elements of the present invention must be clearlydistinguished from areas or patterns of continuous magnetic particles inbinders which are the object of magnetic materials where recording ofinformation is desired. Magnetic media, such as tape, strips, disca andthe like, seek to provide a continuous region of magentic material,usually in the form of discrete particles of magnetic materialsdispersed in a binder. The object is to essentially create an apparentcontinuous coating of magnetic particles so that the maximum amount ofdiscrete information may be carried by the particles. The idealsituation for such media would be to have infinitesimally smallparticles bound by infinitesimally thin regions of binder so thatinfinite bits of information could be recorded and read in theparticles. These particles usually (when discrete particles of fairlyuniform dimensions such as spheres, cubes, tetrahedrons, etc.) havemaximum dimensions of less than 5 microns, usually even smaller. Somemagentic media have attempted to use filamentary magnetic materials, andthe longest dimensions of these are generally less then 20 micrometers,more preferably less than 15 micrometers, and most preferably less then10 micrometers. In addition, these magnetic materials, whetherfilamentary type materials or more conventional particulate materialsattempt to fill as much surface area as possible to provide the densestinformation reading. As such, much more than 80% of the projected areaof a surface must be covered by magnetic materials whether particulatesor other forms in magnetic recording media which seeks quality recordinginformation. In contrast, the magnetic elements of the present inventionmay be used where (for example in a linear read path) less than 80% ofthe area or dimension (in a linear mode) crossed by the reading headcontains magnetic elements. For example, it is reasonable that less than75%, less then 70%, less than 65%, less than 60%, less than 55%, lessthan 50%, less than 45%, less than 40%, less than 35%, less than 30%,less than 25%, less than 20%, less than 20%, less than 17.5%, less than15%, less than 12.5%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, lessthan 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, lessthan 2.5%, less than 2.0%, less than 1.5%, less than 1.25%, less than1.0%, less than 0.9%, less than 0.8%, less than 0.7%, less than 0.6%,less than 0.5%, less than 0.4%, less than 0.3%, less than 0.2%, lessthan 0.1% of the area contain magentic elements along the read path, aslong as the read path contains preferably at least 3 magnetic elementsor three portions of a single magnetic element (e.g., a coiledcontinuous fiber) which can provide signals across the read path. Thismay be as little as 0.001% of the area (Or percent of the lineardimension along the line) along the read path (in either lineardimensions or surface area) which could contain magnetic elements. Thislower limit may be used as a minimum in a range to each of the valueslisted above to establish the range amount of area or linear portionwhich might contain magnetic elements according to the present invention(e.g., 0.001% to 0.1% up to 0.001% to 80% surface area or linearcontent).

Where fibers or filaments coated or embedded with magnetic particles arethe magnetic elements of the invention, the percentages for the areashould reflect the dimensions of the fibers or filaments and not justthe particles or coating thickness on the fibers/filaments.

The simplest conceived construction within the present invention is alabel or film strip which may be secured to a transactional item, labelor article of commerce, or even magnetic elements such as fibers orfilaments woven or otherwise embedded into the article. The label orfilm strip has at least two magnetic elements attached to the item, eachmagnetic element having at least one magnetically readablecharacteristic or spacing with respect to another magnetic element, suchas magnetic strength which can be mechanically read as different fromthe magnetic strength of another magnetic element, signal duration,magnetic orientation, and the like. There are basically two related, butslightly different formats for providing the readable distribution ofmagnetic elements in the present invention. In the first format, themagnetic elements are preferably elongate (even continuous) and straight(as opposed to curved, sinusoidal and segmented) and provide a similaror consistent signal along the length of the element (e.g., the samefield alignment, the same field amplitude, etc. along the entire lengthof the magnetic element). In the second format, the magnetic elements(e.g., fibers, strips, filaments, embedded volumes of magneticparticles) are randomly distributed in the item, label or even within amagnetic strip (e.g., magnetic fibers embedded in the printed stripebinder matrix). The pass of the magnetic reader over the randomlydistributed fibers generates a signal unique to each item. As the amountand number of fibers may be controlled, even in the random distribution,an excessive amount of information need not be generated. Because thesize and strength of the fibers can be significantly greater than thatof individual particles in the strip matrix, the strength and stabilityof the signal can substantially higher. The first format is capable ofproviding a single signal which is used to encode individual items ofgreat volume, while the second format can be used to individuallyauthenticate individual items of a lesser number, where informationstorage is not a problem. For example, the first format would be moreapplicable to the authentication of currency (with a single signal forall like denominations, but a high information content on each item).The second format would be more appropriate for a credit card,specifically for a local chain of stores with a few hundred thousandcustomers. Both systems and formats could be used for both types ofmarkets with obvious compromises.

With the randomly distributed magnetic elements, it is desirable thatthe length of the elements are sufficiently long that they can be readeasily and consistently with a conventional magnetic reading head, andto this end it may be preferred than the length of the magnetic elementsbe at least 1%, preferably at least 2%, and more preferably at least 5%of the width of the reading path of a magnetic reading head used incombination with the security item.

The security system is designed so that when the security items moverelative to a reading head, as where a label moves through the pricereading bar coded device in a controlled direction or the head is movedover the fixed card (e.g., as where a hand held scanner is placed overthe label, or a reading head moves within the hand held device) a seriesof signals is produced, the signals being an encoded signal or othertype of specifically predetermined ordering of data points from theelements. It is desirable that the process be performed with aparticular end forward and a particular face pointing up, but this isnot essential, depending upon the scope of the encoded information. Themagnetic elements are aligned in the items to be read (e.g., thetransactional item, label or film strip or item of commerce) so thatthey will enter the reading area of the reading device in a particularordering. This is, for example, most easily done by having theindividual elements extend in a continuous line from side-to-side in theitem along the shortest dimension on the face of the item, approximatelyperpendicular to or angled (other than perpendicular or parallel) withthe longest dimension of the item. As the item is moved relative to thereading head, the reading area will detect or create a portion of acomplete signal when each readable (magnetic) element passes through thereading area. In an easily constructed mode (and therefore the leastsecure mode), two magnetic elements may be so aligned within the label(or other security item) so that an at least bimodal (with two elements)signal is read by passage of the magnetic elements through the readarea, or two signal points are read which are spaced apart at apredetermined dimension so that the frequency (period) determined by thereading of the two signals (the distance between the elements divided bythe speed of movement of the item the security of which is to beenhanced through the reading device) must also match the requiredfrequency (period) for approval or authentication of the item.

One type of such system may be described as a label or securityenhancing item having one encircling edge or, for example, two sets ofparallel edges comprising a first edge set and a second edge set, thelabel or item having at least three magnetic elements attached to theitem, at least one of said at least three magnetic elements having amagnetic strength (e.g., field intensity) which can be mechanically readas different from the magnetic strength of another magnetic element, atleast two of said at least three magnetic elements extending from oneedge of an edge set towards the other edge of said edge set (or betweenthe encircling edges) with spacing between said at least two magneticelements, said spacing defining a period (and when evenly spaced afrequency) when said magnetic elements are mechanically read whilemoving in a direction at a known or determinable rate, the directionbeing approximated as that defined by a line between edges in saidsecond edge set which line is perpendicular to said edges in said secondedge set, and said at least one of said three magnetic elements defininga first amplitude (either signal amplitude or read amplitude, preferablythe latter) when said magnetic elements are mechanically read whilemoving in a direction approximating that defined by said line betweenedges in said second edge set, which first amplitude is different froman amplitude of another of said at least three magnetic elements whensaid magnetic elements are mechanically read while moving in a directionapproximating that defined by said line between edges in said secondedge set.

The invention also describes a method of authenticating an article, saidarticle having therein at least three magnetic elements having a lengthwhich is greater in size than at least one other dimension of width andthickness, said method comprising

a) moving a magnetic reading head along a path so that said magneticreading head senses said at least three magnetic elements as saidreading head moves along said path, the sensing of said at least threemagnetic elements generating a first signal,

a) b) comparing said first signal to a predetermined second signal toevaluate a degree of correspondence between said first signal and saidsecond signal,

b) c) indicating whether said degree of correspondence is within apredetermined amount of correspondence to authenticate said article.This method of authenticating an article may also be used where saidarticle comprises at least four magnetic elements having at least onedimension which is at least three times greater than any other dimensionof said magnetic element, said method comprising

a) magnetically reading said magnetic elements in said article by movingmagnetic reading head along a line which allows said reading head topick up signals from said at least four magnetic elements to generate afirst signal,

b) comparing said first signal to a second signal which has beenpredetermined to authenticate a specific article or one of a series ofarticles,

c) determining if a level of correspondence between said first andsecond signal is sufficient to allow identification of said article.

This method envisions said at least four magnetic elements comprising amagnetic material selected from the group consisting of fibers,filaments, and particles having at least one dimension of at least 0.10millimeters, preferably from at least 0.1 mm to continuous filaments(e.g., greater than 100 mm). Fiber/filament lengths may be at least 0.01mm, at least 0.05 mm, at least 0.10 mm, at least 0.15 mm, at least 0.20mm, at least 0.50mm, at least 0.75 mm, at least 1.0 mm, at least 0.2.0mm, up to continuous lengths. It is preferred that said at least fourmagnetic elements comprise fibers or filaments, and preferred where saidat least four magnetic elements are randomly distributed fibers orfilaments or specifically aligned fibers or filaments, and (whererandomly distributed) said second signal is a magnetic signal havingbeen taken of said article to specifically identify said article. Wherethe magnetic elements are distributed within a magnetic strip which iscapable of being magnetically encoded, two overlapping signals may beread. This method has some technical relationship to the methodpracticed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,365,586 and 5,428,683, and the apparatusand encoding reading described therein can be used in the practice ofthe present invention with greater ease and simplicity then the attemptto read random background noise in a printed strip. By specificallyselecting the informational content and size of the magnetic elements tobe read in the present invention, the signals may be much more readilydifferentiated and made more stable. The small particles in the magneticstrip readily move about in the binder and change their magneticproperties over time and when repeatedly read. The magnetic elements ofthe present invention may be tailored more easily to create distinct andmore persistent signals.

The method with printed magnetic strips may be practiced in a number ofways, as where said first signal is determined after said magnetic striphas been encoded. The filaments may also have been aligned within saidarticle in a predetermined pattern, and said second signal identifies atype of article and said second signal was not created specifically by areading of said first signal. The first signal can comprise a signalcontent of at least two factors selected from the group consisting offield strength, period and duration. The filaments tend to be longerthan fibers and may be at least one or two centimeter long, up tocontinuous lengths which may be looped within the article.

The format using randomly distributed fibers could be read in a numberof ways. The scanning over a specific line (e.g., a line at a constantor approximately constant distance from a particular edge, in the mannerthan magnetic strips are presently read off credit cards) in the itemcould produce a signal unique to the individual card. This signal couldbe stored and compared in a file with the individual identifier on themagnetic strip. The random fiber generated signals (and for that matterthe aligned filament or element format) could either be read at aseparate time than any other magnetic identifier (e.g., the magneticstrip), may be read in the same pass but at a different interval thanthe strip, may be read at a different location by a separate readinghead (e.g., as in a parallel path reading head), or can be read throughthe magnetic strip. Just as where the background signal could be readbetween the magnetically printed signal, the stronger randomdistribution of fibers could provide a stronger, more readilyidentifiable and stable imprint. It is also possible to have the twosignal strengths of the magnetic strip and the fibers be significantlydifferent, yet both be strong. This would allow for a system where theuser identifying magnetic signal is read, with all values above acertain strength excluded, and the authentication signal limited tomagnetic signal strengths above the cutoff for the identifier signals.

The reading apparatus is may be a hand held or stationary apparatuswhich is placed in alignment with the label or item. It is a simpleconfiguration if the label is square and a face plate on the hand heldreading apparatus is also square. The label or item can be placed withinthe frame of the reading device, the device activated so that a readinghead moves across the face plate, thereby creating and identifying asignal from the magnetic elements in the label or security device.

Another type of this system as described above would have at least fourmagnetic elements, at least two of said at least four magnetic elementshaving a magnetic strength which can be mechanically read as differentfrom the magnetic strength of at least two other of said at least fourmagnetic elements, at least three of said at least four magneticelements extending from one edge of an edge set towards the other edgeof said edge set (or between portions of a continuous, e.g., encircling,edge) with spacing between said at least three magnetic elements, saidspacing defining a period or frequency when said magnetic elements aremechanically read while moving in a direction approximating that definedby a perpendicular line between edges in said second edge set, and eachof said at least two of said at least four magnetic elements defining anamplitude when said magnetic elements are mechanically read while movingin a direction approximating that defined by said perpendicular linebetween edges in said second edge set, and the amplitude of at least oneof said at least four magnetic elements is different from an amplitudeof at least two other of said at least four magnetic elements when saidmagnetic elements are mechanically read while moving in a directionapproximating that defined by said line between edges in said secondedge set. This system could still be further improved upon by having atleast one of said magnetic elements with a width measured along a linebetween an edge set which is at least 5% greater than the width ofanother magnetic element, said width of said at least one of saidmagnetic elements defining a signal duration when said magnetic elementsare mechanically read while moving in a direction approximating thatdefined by said line between edges in said second edge set, which signalduration is different from a signal duration measured from at least twoof said at least four magnetic elements when said magnetic elements aremechanically read while moving in a direction approximating that definedby said line between edges in said second edge set. This item could beconstructed with at least one of said elements having a colorantattached to said at least one of said elements which fluoresces orphosphoresces when irradiated.

a) The present invention also describes a process for authenticating anitem having at least two magnetic elements forming a security enhancingitem comprising

a) moving said security enhancing item in a first direction relative toat least one magnetic sensing or reading device,

b) placing said at least one magnetic sensing device along a pathintersected by said security enhancing item moving in said firstdirection so that each of said at least two magnetic elements passeswithin readable dimensions of said at least one magnetic sensing device,said reading device being capable of determining the presence of amagnetic material (and preferably being capable of measuring theintensity of a signal from a magnetic element, determining the durationof a signal from a magnetic element [or sensing the duration of a signalwith sufficient accuracy so that a microprocessor can measure theduration of the signal]), and measuring the beginning and ending of asignal with a response time that enables determination of signalduration and gaps between signals so that the period, frequency and/ordistance between signals can be measured or calculated from the signal,

c) reading at least one signal from each of said at least two magneticelements to provide an identification signal, said one signal having atleast some components being selected from the group consisting of period(including frequency), amplitude and duration, and

d) comparing said identification signal to a predetermined signalidentifying a particular type of security item.

The invention may be practiced on machine parts and the like in manydifferent ways such as assembling the magnetic elements into the machinepart or affixing a label onto the machine part. With a bolt or screw,for example, the magnetic elements may be embedded into the trough ofthe threads. This placement of a single magnetic filament within thecontinuous thread of a screw or bolt creates a pattern of equal spacing(period), so that the filament should be provided with variations inmagnetic properties along its length so that a code is effected upon apattern of signals read while moving in a path parallel to the axis ofthe screw or bolt. By providing filaments with specific patterns ofmagnetic material along its length, the wrapping of such filaments intothreads of uniform dimensions will produce a specific code when read,thus authenticating the screw or bolt. This can provide a high level ofsecurity for critical manufactured parts such as in aircraft,transportation devices, and medical equipment.

The process may include an illumination source to cause dye or pigmentin elements (or elsewhere printed) to fluoresce or phosphoresce, and areading of the emitted spectra to be compared to data on the encodedemission spectra.

A readable dimension, as used in the description of the presentinvention, simply means that the reading device has sufficientsensitivity to be able to sense the necessary information desired to beread from the element at the particular distance at which the element ispassed in relation to the reading device. As the magnetic strength ofthe element increases, the readable distance or dimension increases witha given magnetic reading element. As the sensitivity of the magneticreading device increases, the readable distance likewise increases withrespect to an element of a given magnetic strength.

Now that the simplest, and therefore least secure arrangements have beenidentified, with even this system being better than present systems usedon labels or the like to reduce unauthorized duplication or forgery,more detailed and more secure systems may also be described.

As noted, the simplest system may have a single magnetic element or twomagnetic elements which provide a single signal or two bits ofinformation, possibly providing a frequency measurement as well. Moresecure systems within the scope of this invention would provide multiplemagnetic elements which may have different spacing (in a predeterminedordering) between each adjacent element (to provide varying periodsbetween signal readings or between signal maximums), different magneticintensities on each or various elements to provide different amplitudesignals (which may be in combination with different frequency or periodsignals), and the elements may even be angled from side to side acrossthe security enhancing item so that reading heads at opposite sides ofthe security enhancing item must provide the same signal at differentintervals for the item to be approved.

The security enhancing item may be constructed easily with the magneticelements included therein by conventional manufacturing techniques.Visually observable threads or filaments are presently in, for example,a label, so it should be apparent that modern fabric manufacturerscurrently practice the methodology necessary to include alignedfilaments within substrates. Adhesive tapes are also manufactured withreinforcing filaments therein, and the substitution or addition of themagnetic elements of the invention in such tapes would also be a simplematter for manufacturers. The inclusion of magnetic elements such asfilaments into other articles of manufacture can be readily done byfeeding magnetic filaments (from which the elements are formed) into thefabric or film making support while the substantive fibers are woven orthe film is coated or extruded. This will place the filaments within thefabric or film matrix, which will then tighten or solidify around theelements. As noted previously, where a film is used to apply the patternof magnetic elements, the magnetic particles may be coextruded with thefilm, embedding the pattern of magnetic material and binder in whichthey are dispersed into the film. This may tend to limit the pattern toparallel stripes, but is still an improvement over existing securitysystems. The use of shorter fibers or filaments fed loosely into theextrusion process may be used to form the more random patterns which arehighly useful for identifying or authenticating individual products.

Similarly, fibers, filaments or elongated magnetic elements which formthe elements may be placed within a mold into which plastic is injectedor extruded to solidify into an insert or structural element, identitycard or the like. Where the final commercial item is to be formed bylamination, it is a simple task to place the magnetic elements, such asthe fibers, filaments or elongated elements forming the elements betweenthe layers to be laminated, then securing the elements into place bybonding, adhering (with or without additional adhesive materials betweenthe layers) or fusing the layers in the laminate. Exruded layers orcolumns of adhesive carrying magnetic particles of the magnetic elementsmay be deposited between the layers before lamination or coectruded intoon of the lamina. Generally when filaments are used, sufficient tensionshould be maintained on the filaments when they are placed into positionso that they will retain the accuracy of their position during finishingof the label or security enhancing item and remain in the preferredstraight position. This is most easily achieved with laminationtechniques where tension may be maintained on both ends of the filamentsduring the lamination process and then trimmed after the process. Theelements may also be prepared in advance in sheets or strips which canbe more readily inserted into the final element. For example, large areasheets (continuing a sufficient amount of area to provide material fortwenty or more security items) may be constructed with the magneticelements or filaments coextruded with the sheet formation. The largearea sheet may then be converted, cut into the appropriate size insertwith the elements appropriately located within each of the cut portions,and the cut portions then interlaid between the faces of the componentparts of the label, card, article or other item to be secured around theinsert.

The method of attachment of the individual strips to the final articleof commerce can be important. Where a label is used, the label can bestitched or adhesively attached to the article. There are benefits anddisadvantages to either method. Stitching of the label is inexpensive,but the labels can be readily removed and recycled, which provides ameans for creating an illegal market in authentic tags. Normal pressuresensitive adhesives can also be stripped from the label or the clothing,but are very easily applied. Thermal adhesives can be less readilystripped, but the less expensive and less durable magnetic materials maybe adversely affected by the heat of lamination. The preferred adhesivesystem is the use of curable adhesives which further polymerize afterthe layers are contacted. This further cure may be activated byintermediate and transient exposure to radiation which initiates activecuring components, light thermal treatment, or humidity. Activepolymerizing agents may also be added to the composition which isimmediately applied to the label and the label applied to the garment.The most preferred embodiment is as follows. Filaments or patterns ofmagnetic materials may be dispersed or placed within a water solublefilm material (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, pectinfilms (e.g., amylopectin) and the like. The adhesive may be placed onthe back of the film, the film applied to the label or garment, and theadhesive of any type secured to the garment. The advantage of thissystem is that the authenticating device may be destroyed at the time ofsale simply by wiping and dissolving the carrier film for the magneticmaterials. This offers some unique anti-shoplifting advantages to thepresent system and will be discussed in better detail below.

It is also important that the security measures can not be readilyreused when put into commerce. This can be prevented only by having themagnetic reading destroyed or sufficiently altered at the point of saleso that it can not be recycled. The present invention offers at leastthree different mechanisms for removing the authenticating system fromthe final article in manners which will not allow them to be removed.The first method is to have the magnetic element in a layer which can betreated with a liquid which will not damage the underlying articlereadily, but will sufficiently alter the distribution of magneticmaterials in the security patch or label. The simplest method is to havethe magnetic materials in a water-dispersible or water soluble polymer(e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, water dispersibleacrylics, natural polymers and resins such as gelatin, gums, pectins andthe like). A series of hard rubs with a water moist pad (or othersolvent if desired such as aqueous alkaline solutions, alcohols, etc.)will readily disrupt the critical pattern of magnetic material andprevent it from being used as a security device after sale and wiping ofthe film. The second type of system would be where the binder for themagnetic particles and elements (or the insert or security item itself)may also be a decomposable binder, particularly one that becomes solublewhen irradiated such as phenol-formaldehyde resins containingpositive-acting photoinitiators such as diaryl iodonium salts andnaphthoquinone diazides and ethers. These types of binder systems arewell known in the printing industry and are commonly available with bothresol and novolak phenol-formaldehyde resins. The third type of systemutilizes the known property of low to medium coercivity magneticmaterials to lose large amounts of their strength upon impact or heattreatment. The impact reduction is particularly desirable with labels inthe following manner. A hand held device similar to a staple gun or nailgun, with a support or impact plate and a hammer may be used. The labelis inserted between the hammer and the impact plate (the hammer beingrelatively flat). The hammer is activated, striking the label with themagnetic material therein. The impact force can be sufficiently strong(e.g., >>1000 foot pounds/square inch/second; preferably greater than10,000 ft pounds/square inch/second; still more preferably greater than100,000 foot pounds/square inch/second; and even more than 500,000 or1,000,000 foot pounds/square inch/second) as to greatly reduce themagnetic effects of the particles and elements. By having the hammer andplate flat, large areas of the label can be altered, rendering thesecurity label unusable at a later date. An electrically actuated hammerdevice would be preferable to one in which the cocking force would haveto be provided entirely by hand. This would be similar to the forcesprovided by an electric stapler.

This erasable feature also lends itself to an important aspect of use ina uniquely critical area of product authentication, in machine orapparatus parts. Forged machine parts are a significant cause ofapparatus failure, and even include problems on commercial aircraft.Bolts, screws and rivets for example, have extremely rigid parametersand specifications which can not be determined by visual inspection.Forged machine parts, such as aircraft bolts and rivets, can be madevery cheaply, if they do not have to meet the rigid requirements ofeffective part. It is therefor economically profitable to attempt tomarket cheap forged parts into the costly aircraft part market, eventhough this endangers the lives of passengers. The inspection processfor authenticating aircraft parts is quite complex and can involvedestructive testing of random samples of parts, which may not beeffective if parts from authentic sources are mixed with parts fromcounterfeit sources. The technology of the present invention could beused on machine parts, and especially bolts, rivets and screws in thefollowing manner. A strip or patch of magnetically encoded materialaccording to the present invention may be adhered to the machine part,particularly in a position which is later to be subjected to impactforces (e.g., the head of the rivet or the opposite end of the headwhich also absorbs shock upon hammering of the rivet). Screws and boltscould have magnetic elements placed underneath the heads where stressoccurs on the head when the bolt or screw is tightened. If themagnetically secured authentication article containing the magneticelements of the invention is located on a surface area which is struckby the hammer or crushed by tightening forces, the authentication codecan be destroyed. The location of the authentication element at the endsor surfaces of the bolts, screws and rivets also provides for theability for specialty reading implements and arrangements. For example,because the bolts are generally of a uniform cross-section, especiallyround cross-sections, the reading apparatus can be designed to fit overthe end of the bolt or under the head of the bolt and the path of thereading head can be designed to conform to particular patterns in thecross-section of the bolt or its head. For example, if the bolt werecircular, the read path would most appropriately be a circular read patharound the axis of the bolt. This would allow for the information in theauthenticating article to be read and aligned with the predeterminedsignal independent of the starting point of the read path. The processcould also be desirably practiced where said at least three magneticelements comprise a single filament with different properties along itslength, said single filament being located in the trough of threads in amachine part having threads therein. The read path would then beparallel to the axis of the machine part and overly the threads. Adiagonal read path on the head or cross-section would have the problemof having to be particularly aligned, while the circular read path wouldpick up the information from one or more reads of the authenticatingelement, and the signal merely would have to be moved into approximateregistry with the predetermined signal to authenticate the article.

Similarly, engine blocks and other machine parts can be authenticated byinsertion of the authenticating elements of the present invention intothe structure. Where higher temperatures are encountered during use ofthe machine part, the more stable magnetic materials should be usedand/or highly insulating material should surround the magnetic elementsto reduce thermal degradation of the magnetic properties of theelements. For example, ceramic fibers, such as those used in the tileson the space shuttle are highly thermally insulating. These fibers canbe made by sol-gel drying of extruded compositions at low to moderatetemperatures which would not adversely affect the magnetic properties ofthe magnetic elements. The magnetic elements could be extruded with thesol-gel compositions so that they become and integral part of theceramic fiber, they could be twined with the ceramic fibers, they couldbe blended into fabrics with the ceramic fibers, they could be adheredto the ceramic fibers in non-woven constructions and then adhered to themachine part. The adherence could be effected by solidifying the sol-gelfiber within an insert on the engine part or adhering the authenticatingtag or label to the surface with high temperature resistant adhesives.The insulating properties of the ceramic fibers would protect themagnetic elements without interfering with their ability to be read.

This erasable feature provides two unique advantages to the presentsystem. Not only is the security element or label destroyed for reuse,but the same magnetic system may also be used as a security systemagainst shoplifting. Present security systems require demagnetization orremoval of tags in the store. The practice of the present inventionallows for the authentication code and a separate (or the same)anti-shoplifting code to be erased at the same time. Theanti-shoplifting code, as indicated, may the same or different code onthe label, and the magnetic code may be provided by the same type ofsystem as the present invention, or by an ink layer, deposited magneticlayer or binder layer which can be demagnetized by the same mechanismsused to demagnetize or alter the authenticating code.

A further advantage of the present system is in the use of code readingchips in the reading device. Individual chips may be provided withmultiple codes for different manufacturers, or the device may beprovided with multiple slots for use with chips provided by thedifferent manufacturers. Each reading device could therefore readauthentication labels for multiple manufactures. The chips could beplaced in parallel or series for reading of the authentication indicia.

It is less preferred, but well within the skill of the artisan inpracticing this invention, to uniquely vary combination(s) of period,amplitude and duration to allow for individual coding of transactionalitems. For example, the magnetic filaments may be positioned to providean encoded or unencoded checksum with the article's identification orsource.

It is also possible to provide some degree of visual inspection to theitem. This could be done by simply coloring the individual elements.There are, however, even better means available for improving securityin addition to the magnetic readout. Elements, in addition to theirmagnetic content, may also have a second machine-readable orvisually-readable content within them. For example, a thin coating maybe placed on the element which would not interfere with magneticreadout, and would even protect the element from physical wear,extending the possible use life of the transactional item. This thincoating could contain materials which contained color (dye or pigment)or which materials could alter their color upon treatment. It would ofcourse be preferred if the color change were reversible or temporary.Temporary coloration could be provided, for example, by phosphorescentor fluorescent materials which would emit specific wavelengths ofradiation when illuminated or heated. These could be at either or bothvisual and/or mechanical readable wavelengths and intensities. Bycombining the magnetic readable signals with mechanically readableelectromagnetic spectrum radiation (e.g., color) emitted signals, a verysecure anti-forgery system could be readily devised.

The effects of different element and content ordering within the marketitems can be expanded upon as follows. FIG. 1 shows a label or securityenhancing item 1 having six magnetic elements (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13)arranged perpendicularly to the longest dimension of the item 1. Byproviding different strength magnetic materials on each element, sixdifferent signals with differing amplitudes (a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, and a6will be provided. Additionally, there will be 5 different period (orwhen equally spaced, frequency) signals provided (f1, f2, f3, f4, andf5). These signals are arbitrarily represented in FIG. 1 as to amplitudeand period, and can be designed with any number of elements with anyvariety of variation, which would provide an endless number of codesavailable to protect transactional items. By varying the thickness ofthe individual elements (e.g., Element 11), a third signal 1 determinedas the length of the signal (endurance) can be generated. This wouldrequire a more refined reading program than the relatively simpleprogram necessary for amplitude and frequency, but this would greatlyincrease the security of the system, without greatly complicatingmanufacture of the elements or label items (by merely providing widerelements). These magnetic signals, as indicated above, can be combinedwith color emission signals to provide additional complexity to theencoding of the transactional items.

The individual elements used in the security systems of the presentinvention can be manufactured by a number of different means. Filament,fiber or thread can be coated in a vacuum chamber with magneticmaterial, magnetic particles can be dispersed within dissolved polymericbinder and the filament extruded with sufficient magnetic content in thefilament composition, magnetic particles may be electrostaticallydeposited onto filament and fused thereon, magnetic coatings may bevapor deposited onto the filament, and a fluidized bed of magneticparticles can be used to deposit particles onto the filament(fluidization effected by pulsed magnetic flux, electrical field flux,or other physical means which will fluidize the magnetic particles andbond them to the element support). It is also possible to form strips byconventional coating or extrusion of a support layer (e.g., polyestersuch as polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate) and thenslitting the film into the appropriate size filaments. Where thefilaments are extruded, readable color content also may be addeddirectly into the binder. Where the magnetic particles are fused orbonded to the filament (or film) surface, color readable particles maybe randomly and proportionately mixed into the magnetic particles. Wherefilm is slit, a separate coating layer of color readable material may beprovided onto the substrate before or after application of the magneticlayer. The color readable layer could be between the film base and themagnetic material where the film base and/or the magnetic coating wastransparent, allowing transmission of an optical signal through one orpreferably both of the layers.

The magnetic materials and particulates preferably used in the practiceof the present invention should range from those which magnetize easilybut not permanently (e.g., Permalloy™) to those which possess a highlystable magnetism (e.g., certain stable rare earth metals includingNeodymium and Samarium, and ferrite magnetic compounds which have anessentially permanent magnetism which is not easily altered by externalfields of moderate to weak intensity). Different magnetic materials maybe used in the various magnetic elements in the transactional item, withdifferent mechanical reading heads chosen which are capable ofresponding to or sensing only selected materials. Filaments composed ofhighly stable magnetic materials as described above may have thepermanent magnetic field aligned with respect to the axis of the fiberbefore or after being incorporated into the item where enhanced securityis desired. The alignment of the signal can also be read as anadditional security identifier. The magnetic field of the elementsshould generally be sufficiently strong to be read easily (with somesafety factor for decreases in strength over the life expectancy of theitem), yet not be so strong as to attract environmental contaminants tothe item. The last limit is one of convenience and cleanliness ratherthan one affecting the functional utility of the system.

When high strength and permanent magnetic materials are used in themagnetic elements, the verification process may be enhanced in itsability to be distinguished from magnetic inks. If the label or securityitem is passed through a moderate strength magnetic field before theitem is read, the traditional inks can be distinguished from the strongand permanent elements. The traditional and commercially available inkswill not retain a high level of magnetism whereas the high strength andpermanent magnetic elements will neither show a permanent loss ofstrength nor lose its field alignment.

The reading device must at least be capable of reading the frequency orthe amplitude or duration of the signals independently. This is easilyaccomplished as this capacity is readily available in conventionalmagnetic reading devices. It is preferred that the reading device becapable of reading at least two or even three of these qualities of thesignals. It is even more preferred that the reading device include anoptical reading function, such as the illumination/fluorescencemeasuring system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,855. The combinationof these four distinct codable entries (frequency, amplitude, durationand emission) would provide a very high level of security. Upgrades onthe code signals would then be provided to each placement of readingdevice, new series of fashions, and the security of the articles wouldbe further enhanced by regular changes in the code. It is desirable inthis system to have articles replaced regularly in normal transactionalevents. This provides a side benefit of making counterfeiting moredifficult, and can trace the flow of specific goods more readily. Thecombination of the in-place security system and a central location forrecord analysis or comparison is also within the skill of the artisan.For example, the in-place security authenticating device can beconnected through lines to a central processing station. Other aspectsof the transaction can be combined with the authentication step throughthe central processing station.

The security of the system could be further enhanced by having at leastsome of the magnetic elements lying at an angle other than perpendicularwith respect to the edges of the item. If the elements were placed at,for example, an angle of fifteen degrees off perpendicular (75 degrees),and two separate magnetic reading heads were placed evenly at the sidesof the transactional item as it was moved through the reading apparatus,the same signal (with respect to intensity and duration) would begenerated from each element at each head, but at a different time. Byencoding the time separation between the two heads (that is the timelapse or period between when each identical piece of the information isread by each head), an additional level of security can be generated.This level of security can be readily heightened with additionalposition alterations in the elements. For example, if the elements wereangled at various specific angles (e.g., Element 3 at 80 degrees, 5 at70 degrees, 7 at 90 degrees, 9 at 75 degrees, etc.), the total orcombined signals read by each head would have both similar features(e.g., Amplitude) and different features (e.g., period). Therefore, twodifferent encoded signals must be met in the same item at the differentheads. The level of complexity in the formation and reading of thesesignals is actually rather small, but the ability to fraudulentlyreproduce them by other than highly sophisticated technology issignificantly reduced.

FIG. 2 shows an even more complex and therefore less readilycounterfeited label or item 21. This item 21 has six readable elements(31, 33, 35, 37,39 and 41). The angle of the individual readableelements (e.g., 31, 33 and 35) with a side edge 43 of the label item 21may differ from element to element. Element 31 may form angle O¹, 33 mayform angle O², and 35 may form angle O³. As a first magnetic readinghead 51 is moved along a path 61 on one side of the item 21, a specificsignal comprising frequency, amplitude and duration is generated by thepassage of the head 51 across the path 61. Because of the differentangles formed by the various elements (31, 33, 35, 37, 39, and 41), thefrequency read by a second magnetic reading head 63 would be differentfrom the frequency read by the first magnetic reading head 61. Theamplitude and the duration read by the two heads (61 and 63) could,however, be the same. They could be different if the width of theindividual elements varied and/or the strength of the magnetic coatingvaried along the length of the elements (although this becomes a lesseasily controlled level of complexity in manufacturing). A thirdmagnetic reading head (not shown) could also be added at an intermediateposition and this would provide a third signal with varying frequencyfrom the first two signals.

Because the coding of the magnetic elements is within the discretion ofthe manufacturer, the design and alignment of the elements is notstrictly limited to arrangements specifically shown in the Figures.Where two reading heads are used, such items which have the elements inthe same angle, but not in the same order or position (as would be theresult of an element extending across the entire printed sheet beforeslitting and crossing over other elements), can well be identified by astandard code. If the code reads the ordering of only thoseperpendicular elements, does not read the frequency or period of angledelements, and compares only the amplitude and duration (and differenttime between signals at one edge versus another edge on the item, aresult of the angling across the item and the different orientation ofthe reading heads with respect to the leading edge of the item as beingscrutinized by the reading device), that element may also have anidentifiable code aspect within the authentication system. Both readingheads would identify the amplitude and duration of the same element (asapproximately the same), and then the time lag of one part of theelement (read by the first head) with respect to a specific otherelement would be compared with the time lag of another part of theelement (read by the second head). A comparison of the different timelags with respect to a specific vertical element within the label orsecurity item would be an indicator of the angle of the angled element.The angle of the element, without respect to its specific locationrelative to one or more other elements, would then become an additionalcomponent of the encoded information.

It is also noteworthy to point out the advantages against forgery thissystem provides as compared to protection provided by magnetic stripeswhich are read, as are commonly used with credit cards. It is quite easyto read the signal from a magnetic strip, paint a magnetic stripe on aforged card, and transfer the read information back to the forged card.It would be far more difficult to attempt to read the positioning andstrength of filamentary elements in a card, and then place suchfilaments within a card with the same totality of responsecharacteristics. This is particularly true where the elements are angledand the card is read by two displaced reading heads on opposite sides ofthe card.

As noted earlier, the essential technology of the present invention maybe used for more than just clothing, but may be used with any materialupon which a label can be affixed.

Looking at FIG. 1, the figure of a label or security item shown in theFigure can also represent a patch or insert (e.g., from 1×2 mm, up toabout 2×5 cm) comprising a plastic film having embedded therein thedistribution of magnetic elements described in the practice of thepresent invention. The patch or insert may be taped, fused or furtherembedded within the structure of the media. Where used with a desk, forexample, the outer edge of the desk may have a small patch of amultifilament patch embedded into an outer edge (or other portion) ofthe desk. If an improper (attempted forgery) signal is provided, awarning signal or stopping signal is sent through the apparatus. Thiswarning or stopping signal can, of course, direct the apparatus toperform any number of specific tasks. These include alerting an operatorthat a non-qualified or improperly identified medium has been inserted,cause a second reading attempt to be made or an adjustment in thelocation of the reading attempt made, and the like.

An example of the best mode of the present system contemplated by theinventor at the time of filing for this invention is:

High strength polyester (polyethyleneterephthalate) filament having adiameter of 0.1 mm is used for all samples unless it is indicated thatpolyester filaments of 0.2 mm are used.

Magnetic coatings are to be applied to the filaments by conventionalvapor deposition or coating of the polyester filaments with a coatingsolution of particulate (e.g., less than 0.05 mm) magnetic Permalloy™particles in a dissolved binder which adheres satisfactorily topolyester (e.g., another polyester in solution/dispersion).

Conventional reading heads from audio or video equipment may be modified(particularly in their alignment) to read the items containing themagnetic elements of the constructions of the present invention.

One filament of a pair of 0.1 mm filaments is coated with Permalloy™ byvapor deposition (filament 1) and the other (filament 2) is coated witha lower surface area density of the same magnetic material by solutioncoating with a 10% solids solution of 5% by weight magnetic particlesand 5% by weight polyester binder. The magnetic field generated by thetwo different filaments will therefore vary by a factor of at least 5from the higher intensity (vapor deposited) filament to the lowerintensity (solution coated) filament. The inclusion of the particlesinto extrudable plastic materials, and especially into polyurethanecompositions, would also be a convenient method of manufacture.

A second pair of filaments having diameters of 0.2 mm are similarlytreated by the two different processes so that another pair of differentdiameter filaments is provided with two different field strengths,filament 3 having the higher field density vapor deposited coating andfilament 4 having the lower field density solution coated magneticcoating.

A patch may be prepared by arranging the filaments in the desiredorientation such as, reading left-to-right (with the relative angle ofthe filament with respect to the bottom edge of a film of polyvinylchloride indicated in parentheses), filament 1 (90), filament 2 (90),filament 3 (75), filament 1 (75), and filament 4 (90). A second film ofpolyvinyl chloride may be carefully laid over the first layer with thefilaments oriented thereon, and the two layers of vinyl resin fused bythe application of heat and pressure to laminate the filaments betweenthe sheets of vinyl. This would secure the filaments in a fixedrelationship within the vinyl resin. This procedure may be repeated tomake as many patches as needed. A segment of the laminate is cut out,leaving the filaments in a predetermined relationship within thelaminate. The code is read by a magnetic head and the signal recorded.The signal would identify the ordering, intensity, duration and periodamongst and between the filaments. Two offset heads would be necessaryto read the angularity data capable of being provided by the angledfilaments. Two magnetic reading heads from an audio tape deck may beassembled on a small platen, equidistant from an edge, with conventionalsignal translating devices still attached to the heads. This portableprototype device could be carried from apparatus to apparatus, ifneeded. The signal reading portion would be provided with the ability tocompare signals (any CPU can accomplish this). The patch from which thesignal has been read and recorded would be cut from the laminate andthen applied to the outermost edge of a label. The portable reading unitwould then be carefully inserted over the label, with the heads locatedat the reading position of the expected location of the label on theouter edge of the apparel. The CPU device is set up so that when asignal is read, if that signal is properly correlated with the recordedsignal, the electrical circuitry identifies an authenticated article. Ifthe signal read from the patch does not match the recorded signal, theCPU is programmed to signal an identification failure and the presenceof a probable forged article.

A second method of item preparation is even simpler. Various of thefilament samples described above are chopped into fibers of variouslengths. The fibers are dispersed into a binder such as polyvinylbutyral and printed as a stripe on a credit card, immediately adjacentto the conventional magnetically read strip. Two reading heads areprovided which separately read the magnetic strip and the printed stripof fiber and binder. Each head will produce a distinct signal. The fiberstrip, being random and with an information content of essentiallyunlimited numbers of magnetic points, will fingerprint the printed stripand the item to which it is attached.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of authenticating an article, said articlehaving therein at least three magnetic elements, each of said threemagnetic elements having a length which is at least two times greaterthan both other dimensions of width and thickness, at least one of saidmagnetic elements being non-parallel to two of said magnetic elements,said method comprisinga) moving a magnetic reading head along a path sothat said magnetic reading head senses said at least three magneticelements as said reading head moves along said path, the sensing of saidat least three magnetic elements generating a first signal,(a) b)comparing said first signal to a predetermined second signal to evaluatea degree of correspondence between said first signal and said secondsignal, (b) c) indicating whether said degree of correspondence iswithin a predetermined amount of correspondence to authenticate saidarticle.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least three magneticelements comprise a single filament with different properties along itslength, said single filament being located in the trough of threads in amachine part having threads therein.
 3. The method of claim 2 whereinsaid machine parts are selected from the group consisting of screws andbolts.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said magnetic reading devicecomprising at least a first and a second magnetic reading heads, each ofsaid first and second magnetic reading heads moving in straight linesacross said at least three magnetic elements, and signals produced byeach of said first and second magnetic reading heads being differentfrom each other at least because at least two of said at least threemagnetic elements are not parallel to each other.
 5. The method of claim1 wherein said magnetic sensing device comprising at least a first and asecond magnetic reading head, each of said first and second magneticreading head moving in straight lines across said at least four magneticelements, and signals produced by each of said first and second magneticreading heads being different from each other at least because at leasttwo of said at least four magnetic elements are not parallel to eachother.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least three magneticelements are associated with a magnetic strip which is encoded, and twooverlapping signals are mechanically read.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein said path intersects magnetic elements between 0.001% and 80% ofthe linear dimension of said path.
 8. A method of authenticating anarticle, said article comprising at least four magnetic elements, eachof said four magnetic elements having at least one dimension which is atleast three times greater than any other dimension of said each of saidfour magnetic elements, at least one of said magnetic elements beingnon-parallel to two of said magnetic elements, said method comprisinga)magnetically reading said at least four magnetic elements in saidarticle by moving magnetic reading head along a line which allows saidreading head to pick up signals from said at least four magneticelements to generate a first signal, b) comparing said first signal to asecond signal which has been predetermined to authenticate a specificarticle or one of a series of articles, c) determining if a level ofcorrespondence between said first and second signal is sufficient toallow authentication of said article.
 9. The method of claim 8 whereinsaid at least four magnetic elements comprises a magnetic materialselected from the group consisting of fibers, filaments, strips andparticles having at least one dimension of at least 0.10 millimeters.10. The method of claim 9 wherein said magnetic reading devicecomprising at least a first and a second magnetic reading head, each ofsaid first and second magnetic reading heads moving in straight linesacross said at least three magnetic elements, and signals produced byeach of said first and second magnetic reading heads being differentfrom each other at least because at least two of said at least threemagnetic elements are not parallel to each other.
 11. The method ofclaim 9 wherein said at least four magnetic elements comprise fibers orfilaments and said fibers or filaments have at least one dimension whichis at least 0.50 mm.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein filaments havebeen aligned within said article in a predetermined pattern, and saidsecond signal identifies a type of article and said second signal wasnot created specifically by a magnetic recording of said element toprovide a signal substantially identical to said first signal.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 wherein said first signal comprises signal content ofat least two factors selected from the group consisting of fieldstrength, period and duration.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein saidfilaments are at least one centimeter long.
 15. The method of claim 12wherein said first signal comprises signal content of field strength,period and duration.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said filamentsare at least two centimeters long.
 17. The method of claim 11 whereinsaid at least four magnetic elements are randomly distributed fibers orfilaments, and said second signal is a magnetic signal having been takenof said article to specifically identify said article.
 18. The method ofclaim 11 wherein said magnetic reading device comprising at least afirst and a second magnetic reading head, each of said first and secondmagnetic reading heads moving in straight lines across said at leastthree magnetic elements, and signals produced by each of said first andsecond magnetic reading heads being different from each other at leastbecause at least two of said at least three magnetic elements are notparallel to each other.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein said magneticreading device comprising at least a first and a second magnetic readinghead, each of said first and second magnetic reading heads moving instraight lines across said at least three magnetic elements, and signalsproduced by each of said first and second magnetic reading heads beingdifferent from each other at least because at least two of said at leastthree magnetic elements are not parallel to each other.
 20. The methodof claim 17 wherein said magnetic elements are distributed within amagnetic strip which is capable of being magnetically encodedindependent of the magnetic information on said magnetic elements, saidmagnetic elements occupying less than 10% of the total area of saidmagnetic strip.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein said magnetic readingdevice comprising at least a first and a second magnetic reading head,each of said first and second magnetic reading heads moving in straightlines across said at least three magnetic elements, and signals producedby each of said first and second magnetic reading heads being differentfrom each other at least because at least two of said at least threemagnetic elements are not parallel to each other.
 22. The method ofclaim 20 wherein said first signal is determined after said magneticstrip has been encoded.
 23. The method of claim 8 wherein said pathintersects magnetic elements between 0.001% and 50% of the lineardimension of said path.
 24. The method of claim 8 wherein said pathintersects magnetic elements between 0.001% and 25% of the lineardimension of said path.
 25. A process for using a magnetic readingapparatus, said apparatus presenting a magnetic sensing deviceoutwardly,an article for use with said apparatus, and said article foruse with said apparatus having in at least a portion thereof an item orarea having at least three magnetic elements which may be intersected bya straight line, at least one of said at least three magnetic elementsbeing non-parallel to two of said at least three magnetic elements, saidat least three magnetic elements attached to the item or area, at leastone of said at least three magnetic elements having a magnetic strengthor duration which can be mechanically read as different from themagnetic strength or duration of another of said at least three magneticelements, said process comprising the steps of having said magneticsensing device face said article so that parts of each of said at leastthree magnetic elements extend within a space corresponding to an areareadable by said sensing device so that movement of said magneticsensing device relative to said at least three magnetic elementsgenerates an authentication signal when said sensing device moves in astraight line relative to said at least three magnetic elements, movingsaid sensing element relative to said article so that spacing betweenelements define a period as part of said authentication signal when saidmagnetic elements are mechanically read while moving relative to saidmagnetic sensing device in a direction approximating that defined by astraight line across said space, and said at least one of said threemagnetic elements defining a first signal amplitude or signal durationas part of said authentication signal when said magnetic elements aremechanically read while moving relative to said magnetic sensing devicein a direction approximating that which is not parallel to all of saidat least three magnetic elements, said first signal amplitude or firstsignal duration being different from an amplitude or duration of atleast one other of said at least three magnetic elements as part of saidauthentication signal when said magnetic elements are mechanically readwhile moving in said straight line, comparing said authentication signalread from said article to a predetermined set of signals, said apparatusshowing either a positive or negative response to evidence apredetermined sufficient correspondence by said authentication readsignal to said predetermined set of signals.
 26. The process of claim 25wherein said apparatus is held in a hand, and said magnetic sensingdevice moves relative to said at least three magnetic elements withinsaid apparatus while said article remains relatively still.
 27. Themethod of claim 25 wherein said magnetic reading device comprising atleast a first and a second magnetic reading head, each of said first andsecond magnetic reading heads moving in straight lines across said atleast three magnetic elements, and signals produced by each of saidfirst and second magnetic reading heads being different from each otherat least because at least two of said at least three magnetic elementsare not parallel to each other.
 28. A process for authenticating an itemhaving at least four magnetic elements within said item comprisinga)moving at least one magnetic sensing device relative to said item in afirst direction, b) placing said at least one magnetic sensing devicealong a path intersected by said first direction so that each of said atleast four magnetic elements passes within readable dimensions of saidat least one magnetic sensing device, said reading device being capableof determining the presence of a magnetic material, c) reading at leastone signal from each of said at least four magnetic elements, saidsignal having at least some components being selected from the groupconsisting of period, magnetic field alignment, amplitude and duration,and d) comparing said at least one signal to a predetermined signalidentifying a particular type of item.
 29. The label of claim 28 whereinat least three magnetic elements are present within said item and saidlabel has a pressure-sensitive curable adhesive on one surface thereof.30. The process of claim 29 wherein said signal has componentscomprising at least period and amplitude.
 31. The process of claim 29wherein said signal has components comprising at least period, amplitudeand duration.
 32. A process for using a magnetic reading apparatus, saidapparatus presenting a magnetic sensing device outwardly, an article foruse with said apparatus, and said article for use with said apparatushaving in at least a portion thereof a path with at least three magneticfibers lying within said path, at least one of said magnetic fibersbeing non-parallel to two of said magnetic fibers,said processcomprising the steps of having said magnetic sensing device face saidarticle so that parts of each of said at least three magnetic fibersextend within a space corresponding to an area readable by said sensingdevice, moving said sensing element relative to said article in adirection corresponding to said path so that spacing between fibersdefine a period when said magnetic fibers are mechanically read whilemoving relative to said magnetic sensing device in said pathapproximating a straight line across said space, and at least one ofsaid three magnetic fibers defining a signal amplitude when saidmagnetic fibers are mechanically read while moving relative to saidmagnetic sensing device in a direction that is not parallel to said atleast three magnetic fibers, said signal amplitude being different froman amplitude of another of said at least three magnetic fibers when saidmagnetic fibers are mechanically read, comparing signals read from saidarticle to a predetermined set of signals, said comparing indicatingeither a positive or negative response to a predetermined sufficientcorrespondence by said mechanically read signal to said predeterminedset of signals.
 33. The process of claim 32 wherein said fibers arerandomly distributed.
 34. The process of claim 32 wherein there are atleast ten fibers in said path.
 35. The process of claim 32 wherein saiditem has a magneticallly recordable strip parallel to said path.
 36. Theprocess of claim 32 wherein each fiber generated amplitude signal readfrom said path is at least 5% greater in amplitude than the maximumamplitude in the signal from said magnetic strip.
 37. The process ofclaim 32 wherein a single magnetic reading head is used to read both themagnetic strip and information from said fibers in said path.
 38. Aprocess for authenticating a transactional item having at least threemagnetic elements selected from the class consisting of magnetic fibersand filaments within said item, at least one of said magnetic fibers andfilaments being non-parallel to two of said magnetic fibers andfilaments, said process comprisinga) moving said transactional item in afirst direction, b) placing at least one magnetic sensing device along apath intersected by said first direction so that each of said at leastthree magnetic elements passes within readable dimensions of said atleast one magnetic sensing device, said reading device being capable ofdetermining the presence of a magnetic material, c) reading at least onesignal from said at least three magnetic elements, said signal having atleast three components being selected from the group consisting ofperiod, magnetic field alignment, amplitude and duration, and d)comparing said at least one signal to a predetermined signal identifyinga particular type of transactional item.
 39. The process of claim 38wherein at least six magnetic elements are present within said item. 40.The process of claim 38 wherein said path intersects magnetic elementsbetween 0.001% and 80% of the linear dimension of said path.
 41. Theprocess of claim 38 wherein said path intersects magnetic elementsbetween 0.001% and 50% of the linear dimension of said path.
 42. Theprocess of claim 38 wherein said path intersects magnetic elementsbetween 0.001% and 25% of the linear dimension of said path.
 43. Theprocess of claim 38 wherein said path intersects magnetic elementsbetween 0.001% and 5% of the linear dimension of said path.
 44. Aprocess for authenticating an item of apparel, said item of apparelhaving a portion thereof having at least four magnetic elements withinsaid portion, at least one of said magnetic elements being non-parallelto two of said magnetic elements said process comprisingmoving saidportion in a first direction relative to at least one magnetic sensingdevice, placing said at least one magnetic sensing device along a pathintersected by said first direction so that each of said at least fourmagnetic elements passes within readable dimensions of said at least onemagnetic sensing device, said reading device being capable ofdetermining the presence of a magnetic material, reading at least onesignal from said at least four magnetic elements, said signal having atleast some components being selected from the group consisting ofperiod, magnetic field alignment, amplitude and duration, and comparingsaid at least one signal to a predetermined signal identifying aparticular type or source of said item of apparel.
 45. The process ofclaim 44 wherein said signal has components comprising at least periodand amplitude.
 46. The process of claim 44 wherein said signal hascomponents comprising at least period, amplitude and duration.
 47. Theprocess of claim 44 wherein at least one of said at least two magneticelements has a colorant attached thereto which fluoresces orphosphoresces when irradiated and both an irradiating device and lightdetection device capable of detecting fluorescing or phosphorescingradiation lies along said path, said irradiating device irradiating saidportion of said item and said light detection device detectingfluorescing or phosphorescing radiation and comparing signals from saiddetecting which are compared to stored signals which define a particulartype of item of apparel.
 48. A process for using a magnetic readingapparatus, said apparatus presenting a magnetic sensing deviceoutwardly,an article for use with said apparatus, and said article foruse with said apparatus having in at least a portion thereof an item orarea having at least three magnetic elements which may be intersected bya straight line, at least one of said at least three magnetic elementsbeing non-parallel to two of said at least three magnetic elements, saidat least three magnetic elements attached to the item or area, at leastone of said at least three magnetic elements having a magnetic strengthor duration which can be mechanically read as different from themagnetic strength or duration of another of said at least three magneticelements, said process comprising the steps of having said magneticsensing device face said article so that parts of each of said at leastthree magnetic elements extend within a space corresponding to an areareadable by said sensing device so that movement of said magneticsensing device relative to said at least three magnetic elementsgenerates an authentication signal when said sensing device moves in astraight line relative to said at least three magnetic elements, movingsaid sensing element relative to said article so that spacing betweenelements define a period as part of said authentication signal when saidmagnetic elements are mechanically read while moving relative to saidmagnetic sensing device in a direction approximating that defined by astraight line across said space, and said at least one of said threemagnetic elements defining a first signal amplitude or signal durationas part of said authentication signal when said magnetic elements aremechanically read while moving relative to said magnetic sensing devicein a direction approximating that which is not parallel to all of saidat least three magnetic elements, said first signal amplitude or firstsignal duration being different from an amplitude or duration of atleast one other of said at least three magnetic elements as part of saidauthentication signal when said magnetic elements are mechanically read,comparing said authentication signal read from said article to apredetermined set of signals, said apparatus showing either a positiveor negative response to evidence a predetermined sufficientcorrespondence by said authentication read signal to said predeterminedset of signals.
 49. The process of claim 48 wherein said at least threemagnetic elements are associated with a magnetic strip which is encoded,and two overlapping signals are mechanically read.